Rejects
by doo-doo-deedle
Summary: This is the story from the Uglies Trilogy. This depicts what happened before the time of Tally Youngblood. Who was the first "Pretty"? Who were the first "Special Circumstances"? And what secrets are held in the surgery's dark past?
1. Rumors

-1-

"Did you hear about that new operation?" The dorm was buzzing with the news of the operation that had been promised a few months before. People were gossiping about it, and everyone had thought it was just a dumb rumor some littlie made up. "I hear that they cut off your face and give you a new one, made of some kind of plastic, or something." Olwen flipped his stringy hair off the side of his face. "Next," Cassidy sat at the side with her feet propped on top of her bed. A revolving rack of clothes spun left and right. "Plastic is for toys," Cassidy said as she turned down yet another pair of shoes. "You know what I hear?" He was obviously excited about the whole thing. To her, it all was just another gimmick to please the masses. "I don't want to hear any more of your rumors." She waved off a display of belts and flung herself down on her bed. "I don't _make_ rumors, Cass. I only spread 'em." His dark brown hair was tangled and flung to the side again with another twist of his head. His acne wasn't as bad as some, but it certainly wasn't the most flattering thing in the world. And her? What of Cassidy Gale, the lanky, plain-jane sixteen year-old with a slight over bite and a reputation for getting in trouble? A makeover, she thought, would be just what I need. "So, the operations… do you suppose they're everything people are saying they are?" She couldn't believe something that sounded so good could be true. Nothing ever was as good as it sounded. "Well, I guess we'll never know." He said that with the kind of tone she couldn't stand. "What are you getting at?" She took her head off the mattress and stared him in the face with a curiosity she hadn't had in awhile. "Well, they will be unveiling their first subject tomorrow, and I'd like you to come with me." Something in her mind told her to resist, but the curiosity took complete control over her and she sprang to her feet. "I'll go, but not because I'm interested." He smiled, revealing his crooked teeth. "I thought you'd say that. Aren't you glad I spread rumors?" She threw a pillow at him and addressed the room, "Please set my alarm for tomorrow at seven in the morning." The room answered her by displaying a digital clock that marked her time. "I guess we'll board there," said Olwen, "But the city isn't finished laying down the grid yet, so we should be really careful of where we go." He got up and said goodbye then left. She couldn't believe it. An operation that makes someone super-model gorgeous? Even the vast advancements in technology hadn't been able to do something like that. She flung herself back onto her bed and rolled off onto the floor with a loud thump. "Ouch." The room asked if she was okay, and after she got back up a news feed chimed in and was brought up. A voice piped up and said, "Tomorrow, get up bright and early to see the world's first 'Pretty'. Scientists have found a way to reconfigure the human body. If all goes as planned, in two years' time the operation will be available to everyone in the city. Please do not miss this breakthrough in history." The voice left a vivid impression on Cassidy that things were going to change. Oh, yes they were.

I am going to write more when I get the time. So please, review this and tell me how you like it. Thanks.


	2. Pretty

* "See notes at bottom"

She had awoken earlier than expected. It was five in the morning when her tossing finally woke her up. She was having nightmares, about what she couldn't quite remember. Cassidy got out of bed, trying not to wake the computer up. She'd only gotten her right shoe on when she heard the chime of a new message. Struggling with her left shoe, she listened to the message play. "Hey, Cass. I know it's earlier than usual, but I've got some really awesome news! You'll have to go to the unveiling alone, because I'll meet you there later. It's a big surprise, otherwise I'd tell you. See ya." Well, that's weird, she thought. The message was recorded five hours ago, at midnight. Whatever the big surprise was, she now had to go alone. She zipped up her thermal jacket and climbed out of her window after she grabbed her board. She had gotten the new hover board for her sixteenth birthday. Her parents were worried, because the grid system still hadn't been set up through the whole city and the boards had a weak magnetic attraction. This was only the fifth time she rode one, and she had taken her fair share of crashes. Steadying herself on the thin board, she leaned forward and it slowly gained speed, picking up the attraction of metal. She cruised along a path that was marked safe for boarding, floating past the park at an even pace. She traveled for only a few minutes when a gust of wind tipped the board slightly and sent her twirling through the air*. Her shoes squeaked across the surface as she tried to hold on to it, flailing her arms to steady it. The wind picked up and so did she, whizzing into a tree head first and sending her flying in the opposite direction. She screamed as the board dipped, slicing her knees on the bark of a tree as she flew by. It had taken her a way off the path, and now the board was losing magnetic pull. It shuddered and skidded, dumping her onto the ground. Panting, she lay on in the grass until the stinging in her knees stopped. When she finally sat up, she saw that the board had a long crack straight down the middle, no doubt from when she collided with the tree. She decided to leave the broken board there, it was no use anyway. It took her another hour to reach the center of the city, where a huge scrolling sign said, "Welcome everyone! Witness history in the making with the unveiling of the first ever Pretty!" It flashed green and white then disappeared, replaced by the image of a man in a white coat, undoubtedly a doctor, waving and smiling to a crowd he probably couldn't see. The stage was suspended in the air, held by new hover struts, behind it the giant screen flashed back to the message. Cassidy squeezed through a throng of younger kids, who giggled and started punching each other playfully. The small square was packed; people huddled in groups against the October chill, people selling hot drinks, people taking pictures. She scanned the vast crowd, hoping she would see Olwen jumping up and down in his hyper-activeness, his big crooked grin showing through his shoulder-length brown hair. She couldn't see him, and suddenly she felt like she shouldn't have gone in the first place. This was probably another one of those silly advertisement schemes that lured you in with promises. For another couple of hours this went on, people standing around, and all the while the crowd got bigger. Finally, the sign flashed into a counter set on one minute, and the crowd cheered. Cassidy was filled with a mix of excitement and confusion. Why wasn't Olwen here yet? He _was_ the one that wanted to go, anyway… The counter got down to ten, and the crowd counted down. When it hit one, the giant sign started to roll up, revealing a large room behind it. The doctor that was waving stepped out, still waving his hand vigorously, and turned to his audience. He spoke, "How is everyone doing?" The crowd screamed and whistled, someone let a handful of balloons go. Cassidy watched them fly up and away. They made her feel small and insignificant. "Today is a very remarkable day. It is the dawning of a new age. No longer will people be judged for their appearances; no longer will the word 'racism' be used. We have come up with a way to not only change the outer image of ourselves, but reconstruct our whole bodies. Now, we can be stronger, healthier, and happier. Within two years' time," he pointed to the crowd with every word he said," every single one of you will be Pretty." The people screamed. Cassidy thought she heard someone cry. _This must be a big deal to some people_, she thought. After the noise died down, the doctor clapped his hands together and smiled. "With this thought, I give you our first ever Pretty." Fireworks erupted into the sky, the sign flicked on, revealing the clear white skin of the person who was strolling out onto the stage. Before she could see who it was, the people pushed past her. The whole square seemed to gasp. The people fell silent. That's when she saw him; sparkling brown eyes under a veil of perfect eyelashes, lips that were slightly parted and curved into a perfect smile, short brown hair that was shining brilliantly in the sun. His eyes seemed to draw her in; she wanted to be _in_ them. She wanted him to look at her and her only. For a split second, she averted her eyes. That was when she saw it; the worn shoes with the dirty laces, the ones she'd seen nearly all of her life. The ones Olwen always wore. His lucky shoes.

*since Cassidy was alive before Tally's time, the technology is less advanced. Hover boards have just been made available to the public in this story, so there is construction on grid for the city.


	3. The Offer

It took awhile for the crowd to start thinning out enough for Cassidy to get close enough to the stage. It took even longer for Olwen to stop shaking hands with people and posing for pictures before he turned toward her and smiled. "Hey, Cass, didn't I tell you this would be cool?" He shouted. He sauntered over to her, did a half-spin, and posed. Cassidy stood there, just staring at him_. He's different_, she thought. _He has more confidence, and he even glows with it._ There was something about him she couldn't put her finger on*. All she could say was, "How?" His smile grew wider, exposing the brightest white teeth she had ever seen. "Well, a week ago, I was practicing my hover boarding. I took a spill and got hurt pretty badly. Well, I went to the clinic to get it treated, when that guy," he pointed to the doctor in white, "walked in and told me I had the opportunity of a lifetime." The doctor had seen Olwen's gesture, and waved off a couple who was eagerly talking to him. He had dark brown hair, a slender face, and broad shoulders made his shadow look intimidating. The next moment he appeared at Olwen's side. "Ah, how are you today? I hope you are enjoying our festivities." Cassidy tried to be respectful, but she couldn't help but stare in his eyes, and see something cold and glassy there. "Yeah, very exciting," she said. He studied her for a moment. "Why, child, you can't be older than seventeen years old!" He suddenly exclaimed. This surprised her. "I'm sixteen, actually." He clapped his hands together, and attempted a smile, which appeared like an animal baring its teeth. An awkward silence followed, until Olwen cut in. "This is Cassidy, the one I told you about." The doctor's apparent happiness seemed to double. "This is Cassidy? Well, now, that changes things. Please, let me introduce myself to you." He grasped her and shook it. "I am Dr. Leon Cable**. I am the one who asked Olwen here if he wanted to be pretty, and I am also the one who operated on him. I have actually been working on the procedures of the operation for seven years, and now it has finally become reality. I'm so proud, and I like to think of Olwen as my son." Cassidy hadn't been aware that research for this operation had been taking place the last seven years, and the idea of the surgery seemed haunting and mysterious. Whoever he was, Dr. Cable had an air of arrogance and self assuredness about him. "Is that so? Well, I'm glad that he decided to make such a big decision, without even asking me," she said crossly. She was angry. Who wouldn't be? Her best friend had left her behind to explore a new life, without even so much as a heads up. The comment had visibly hurt him, and she regretted it at once. Something about him being sad, in the way his pretty eyes dropped, made her feel like she would throw herself off a cliff just to make him smile again. Dr. Cable patted her on the shoulder. "There, there. All will be well, child. You will not be excluded. You see, the surgery was meant for people seventeen years or older, due to medical issues, and I was hoping to lower the operation age to sixteen. With the success of Olwen's surgery, we may start to open it to the public. With some convincing from him, I have agreed to allow you to have the operation, even though you are still underage." Olwen smiled again. "Yeah, Cass. Now you won't be left alone. It'll be like old times, except now we'll be beautiful. Dr. Cable says that, hopefully, with the success of your operation, he will prove that it's safe to operate on sixteen year olds." She could not believe her ears. How could Olwen say that? For one thing, it was still not proven that the operation was even safe for sixteen year olds, regardless of one year's difference. "What if I get hurt? Didn't you say you operated on Olwen since he was seventeen, because of medical issues?" Dr. Cable shook his head. "I operated on Olwen because he was the perfect subject. A teenage boy who was willing to take risks, knew the con-sequences, but was eager to do it anyway. The fact that he was seventeen was only a coincidence." She was infuriated. "Are you hearing this, Olwen? You're only a coincidence! What if he wasn't seventeen? You said yourself it wasn't because of his age that you chose him!" Dr. Cable smiled, and said," That is beside the point. I knew perfectly well that he was healthy and of age. The point is I would like you to consider the offer I've presented you with. Olwen would like you to share in his experience. " Even though Dr. Cable was beating around the bush, and even though he was talking about Olwen like he wasn't there, she couldn't help but become curious. Olwen's eyes only showed excitement, and looking at them made her excited, too. "Are you sure I won't get hurt?" "Positive." "Then, yes, I'll do it." Olwen whooped and scooped Cassidy up in his arms. She blushed. "You're going to like it, Cass. It gives you a new perspective on life." It must have, because Olwen was an entirely different person. Behind the excitement, deep down but still there, was sadness. There would be no more crooked, toothy grins from behind his long dark hair. No more pranks, tricks, or jokes. Olwen had become another person. Was she, too, going to end up like him?

*Although Olwen is acting different, he does not have lesions in his brain. The operation is in an early stage, and doctors haven't started the procedure. His attitude change is simply because his inhibitions were taken away with his operation. He no longer is embarrassed of how he looks.

** Dr. Leon Cable. If you are familiar with the Uglies trilogy, you have heard this name. I've decided to make him her grandfather, or even great-grandfather, depending on the time-span, just so you get a feeling of the interconnections with Tally's world.


End file.
